<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>in your heart's garden by wlweak</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28319181">in your heart's garden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlweak/pseuds/wlweak'>wlweak</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DC Extended Universe, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies), Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Minor Diana (Wonder Woman)/Steve Trevor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:41:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28319181</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlweak/pseuds/wlweak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things are simple. </p><p>She is the daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, sculpted from clay and breathed life into by the gods. She is kind, and loving, and her heart belongs to every person she will ever meet.</p><p>He is the second son of Odin, the Allfather, protector of the Nine Realms. He is cunning, and ambitious, and he knows better than anyone the power that lies on a person's tongue can hold.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Diana (Wonder Woman)/Loki (Marvel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in your heart's garden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Bifrost finds the Amazons before Diana has taken her first steps, hidden in a thunderstorm that threatens to ravage Themyscira in the weeks that follow its creation.</p><p>The Allfather comes, offering a hand of peace in the wake of destruction; an ally when there are none to be found. He does not mention dead gods, though Hippolyta knows their names dance upon his breath. They wait to be spoken until there is no longer fear in the hearts of an island shrouded in secrecy.</p><p>His hand willingly takes the golden lasso coiled tightly around his fingers, though Hippolyta does not trust easily.</p><p>"This is Zeus' doing?" Hippolyta questions, in a language newer to her tongue than the archaic words of her gods.</p><p>Odin says nothing of the scathing look the woman gives, her eyes burning brighter and harder than any weapon used against him could ever possibly. He speaks clearly, focused on the task at hand. "He thought you might need an ally."</p><p>Hippolyta's own hand tightens around the lasso, her voice hard. "We don't."</p><p>Odin gives a noise. Too deep to be a laugh, too respectful to be a scoff. "You will."</p><p>//</p><p>“This is dangerous,” Antiope warns, the first time they prepare to step through onto Asgard.</p><p>Diana, still swaddled in blankets, remains in the palace. If anything happens to either of them, Philippus will keep her safe.</p><p>The sigil of the Bifrost has made a home on the sand of Themyscira, lighting up like a second sun as the negotiations between the two worlds solidified. The doubt still within their minds has made it impossible to visit the place other Asgardians who have passed to and from speak wonders of, though.</p><p>It is only the valor of her sister, and the determination to make their peace work, that send both women across for what Odin had declared a great feast of celebration. More stray behind them, a handful of curious and bored Amazons itching to discover new adventures. Those that have not yet become accustomed to the simple life of island living dare to seek out more, and Asgard welcomes them.</p><p>Hippolyta sighs, though she does not chastise her sister for her doubt. “They are allies, and Ares will not lay in wait forever. What is one Earthly god against Nine Realms?”</p><p>Antiope’s mouth curls into a sneer. “They aren’t gods.” Hippolyta knows she’ll play nice once they are through the bridge, and so she allows this moment of distaste. “They aren’t even immortal, dear sister.”</p><p>Hippolyta sighs, too tired to have this discussion again. “Unless you wish to risk my daughter, they are the next best thing.”</p><p>//</p><p>A giggling child wanders through the shore of an island of paradise, her legs bouncing excitedly as she makes her way while hiding herself from a tutor that screams her name into the wind.</p><p>Diana stops where the rocks and sand no longer merge together uniformly on the ground, bending down to pick at the ones that are scorched by flame and light. Her gaze turns upwards, to the empty skies above, searching.</p><p>She squints, but there is nothing there but clear skies and the gentle breeze that brings the waves crashing down besides her.</p><p>“Diana!” Her mother calls out, quickly hefting the girl into her arms. “What are you doing, little one? This is no place for children to be playing alone.”</p><p>Small but determined fingers reach downwards, trying to bring the rocks to her. “Alexa says there’s a floating city.” She reaches further, but Hippolyta’s hold is ironclad. “On the other side of the bridge. Can I see it, mother? She said everything is made of gold. Is that true?”</p><p>“I think you’ve been asking your tutors too many questions when you should be learning.” Hippolyta cannot help the fond roll of her eyes, casting her gaze around to see the woman in question strolling towards them, looking abashed. No doubt of having lost Diana for the fifth time this week. “You’ll see Asgard soon enough.”</p><p>In her grasp, Diana squirms excitedly.</p><p>//</p><p>Frigga is a gracious host, even after gods know how many times Diana’s attention diverts to the next thing that catches her gaze during her tour of Asgard’s palace.</p><p>With the Queen Mother’s assurances that Diana is in good hands, Hippolyta leaves the two to walk together through the palace and speak in hushed, conspiratory whispers.</p><p>There is nothing particularly spectacular about Asgard, Diana finds. It is beautiful, and magical — Frigga shows Diana a trick, an illusion, that has flowers sprouting from the walls and vanishing before her eyes and all Diana can think about is how easy such a thing would make for her to sneak away from Alexa in the future — but it is not so different from Themyscira.</p><p>They are both palaces with too many people, not enough space between them to let a young child looking for adventure in a new land breathe.</p><p>Frigga must sense the child’s displeasure growing. In no time, she calls her youngest son to them. “Loki,” she says, in that mothering voice Diana has heard Hippolyta use too many times. “Why don’t you finish giving our new guest a tour? I’m sure there’s places in our home that I’m not as familiar with.”</p><p>There’s no room for debate in her tone. The wide eyed, stalky boy nods once before his mother excuses herself, promising to find Hippolyta and assure her that Diana is still doing well.</p><p>For a moment, they stand together, rooted in the same spot. Diana’s eager but curious gaze scrutinizes the newcomer.</p><p>Loki does the same, though his interest is hidden by the occasional tilt of his head away from her and towards the people which move around them.</p><p>“You’re like me,” Diana says finally, in a tone not devoid of awe. “But a boy.”</p><p>The ink haired boy purses his lips, tone carefully neutral. “Mother says there isn’t anyone like you in all the Nine Realms.”</p><p>This makes Diana laugh. She shakes her head. “No, I suppose. But you are! We’re both young, see?” She wrinkles her nose, looking around before drawing in close to whisper. “Not like the Amazons— they’re all old.”</p><p>Loki snorts at that, unable to help himself. His face flushes as he realizes what he’s done, however, and he half-glares at Diana. “What? You’ve never seen another child?”</p><p>Diana shakes her head slowly. “That’s why there’s nobody like me. Mother made me from clay when she wanted a child.”</p><p>“I don’t think that’s—” Loki’s words are abruptly cut short as Diana makes the decision to walk away from him, her face pressing to a window down the hall and staring towards the garden below.</p><p>Her eyes grow wide at the large array of colors she doesn’t think she’s seen anywhere on Themyscira. Petals brighter than silver coins and deeper shades of blue than any ocean. “Are all flowers on Asgard like that?” They remind her of the illusion Frigga showed her.</p><p>Loki stares at her as she fogs up the glass underneath her nose. His eyebrow arches skeptically. “Not all of them.”</p><p>Diana turns her face to Loki, eyes bright and curious as she considers. “Your mother knows magic. Do you know magic?”</p><p>For a moment, Loki considers telling her no, but Diana’s gaze is excited and open, not repulsed by the idea. She does not hold the prejudices against sorcery that Asgard has come to know intimately well.</p><p>He casts another gaze at the hallway around them, before tentatively holding his hand out to Diana. “Let me show you.”</p><p>//</p><p>Diana leans excitedly against the balcony that oversees the training grounds of Asgard, one step away from being in danger of falling over. “Do you see them, Loki? Aren’t they wonderful?”</p><p>From a few steps behind, Loki gazes over her head. The people below them pay them no mind, Amazons and Asgardians alike engaging in a spectacle of grace and agility. The sound of swords clashing together ring in their ears, armor against armor clinking together as blows are received and reciprocated.</p><p>In the center of it all, Antiope maneuvers herself around the other warriors as she engages in her own battle. She flips through the air, quick and easily, delivering a kick to one of her assailants. Her arm draws back to land her elbow in the face of another before she’s drawn back by an oncoming sword, inches away from slicing through her chest.</p><p>There is no missing the exhilarated grin on her face as she fights on with vigor.</p><p>“They’re fearsome.” Loki doesn’t think he’s seen that bloodthirst in anyone’s eyes as he sees it in Antiope’s. “Are they always this dedicated?”</p><p>“And more,” Diana whispers. She pulls back from her perch to look to Loki, her eyes shining in a way that mirrors her beloved aunt’s. Her smile, however, speaks of a longing Loki is familiar with. “Antiope will teach me one day soon. She thinks I can be as fierce a warrior as her.”</p><p>Loki laughs. He has seen the way she fearlessly jumps out of windows and tumbles in the wind with a growing agility. “I think you can be better.”</p><p>//</p><p>Thor and Diana play with wooden swords in the courtyard, all smiles and bright laughter between them. They twirl in a mockery of the Amazon and Asgardian style, bringing down the play weapons lightly to avoid injury, but just as enthusiastically.</p><p>“Queen Hippolyta will be upset if she sees you two doing that,” Loki calls from the sidelines, boredly flipping through one of his mother’s books on sorcery, though they pay him no mind.</p><p>Truth be told, he cannot focus on the pages. The way that his idiot brother and friend’s playful fighting styles mesh together so easily has him casting careful glances at them too often, lips pulled down in a sour scowl every time they giggle in good humor. Youthful innocence does nothing to tamp down his jealousy.</p><p>Diana was his friend first, and now here Thor is taking her attention from him.</p><p>His feelings are lost on the other two, however, and Diana cheers as she succeeds in riding Thor of his sword for the fifth time in a row. “Come on, Loki!” She calls to him, a devilishly wicked grin on her face. “Pick up a sword. I bet I can beat you too!”</p><p>“Swords aren’t my style.” He declines easily, though his eyes are locked on the girl who’s quickly coming up to stand beside him. “Besides, Thor likes losing to you too much to let me play.”</p><p>“I’ll best her next time,” Thor promises, like the cheerfully optimistic idiot he is. His grin as he now stands next to Diana, both before Loki, is infuriating.</p><p>Diana’s grin falters as she sees the displeased look on Loki’s face, her eyes shooting to Thor for a moment before comprehension dawns onto her. It vanishes completely as she looks to Loki again, this time accompanied by a look of true remorse as she realizes Loki feels left out.</p><p>Guilt is quick to follow in Loki’s heart as he sees her ever-present joy disappear because of him, but he pushes it down as he turns his head away to continue glancing at his book. “I’m sure you will, brother,” Loki assures Thor flatly. “Why don’t you go try again?”</p><p>“Mother will come looking for me soon,” Diana excuses. She rests her wooden sword next to Loki’s chair, throwing her messy ponytail over her shoulder. “I don’t want her to get angry.”</p><p>Thor agrees easily enough, his own weapon falling next to her perfectly. “What shall we do now, then?”</p><p>Diana blinks, considering. After a moment, a new, hopeful but just as fitting smile finds itself on her lips. She turns back to Loki, bringing her hands together. “We can go to the gardens. You said you’d show me the new trick you learned, remember?”</p><p>“I can show you some other time.” His voice is dismissive, but already the idea of having Diana’s attention again has him flipping his book to it’s cover and setting it down beside him.</p><p>The two in front of him block his path, but Diana grabs at both his wrists with quick fingers and pulls him up to stand as she begins retreating to the place they both know so well. “I’ll be going home soon. Let’s go!”</p><p>Loki lets her drag him along, until a smile finds itself overtaking his face and the three slowly come to a sprint. Their laughter rings happily through the halls of Asgard.</p><p>//</p><p>Some things are simple.</p><p>She is the daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, sculpted from clay and breathed life into by the gods. She is kind, and loving, and her heart belongs to every person she will ever meet.</p><p>He is the second son of Odin, the Allfather, protector of the Nine Realms. He is cunning, and ambitious, and he knows better than anyone the power that lies on a person's tongue can hold.</p><p>Their time together is spent in secret passages of a marvel of a palace, whispering conspiratorially and making promises of a tomorrow as bright as their joy in the company of each other.</p><p>Her wishes are to be a great warrior, to surpass any Amazon before her with a might unlike ever seen before. She complains for months of her mother's haste to deny her the chance to train, tears of frustration rolling down her cheeks. Who will she be if she is not an Amazon?</p><p>He does not speak of his own wishes, though Diana learns to detect the rigidity of his spine when in the presence of father and brother. The lightness he possesses with his own mother, with her, turns into a barely managed illusion around others.</p><p>Diana's own yearning is not so emotional, but she understands. She prays to long since dead gods that he will find the happiness he craves.</p><p>//</p><p>It is when she no longer speaks wistfully of standing with her sisters in a battlefield that Loki suspects. She wears a bruise on her chin like a badge of honor, but claims it was due to a climbing incident.</p><p>Hippolyta's gaze is as doubtful as his own, but she does not question such things in front of her allies. The business of a rowdy Amazon child is not Asgard's concern.</p><p>A handful of instances as such must pass before Loki can bring himself to speak of it, dragging her away to their own spot in the gardens to speak just as soon as she arrives for a visit to Asgard.</p><p>Diana wavers as he sits easily enough on the soft grass below them, putting on a brave face to hide her pained winces. She practically crawls down onto her knees before lying down fully, not caring of Loki's empty complaints as half her body lands draped over him.</p><p>She lets out a sigh of relief then, the perfumed scent of flowers she still does not know the name of overtake her completely.</p><p>"I have missed this," she whispers.</p><p>Neither of them allow themselves to mention the time past between visits.</p><p>Loki shoves at her gently in an attempt to pull himself from under her, but Diana's hiss of pain as her shoulder is pushed stops him in his tracks. He wonders where she'll say this injury came from when he asks, and resolves to spend the evening as her pillow.</p><p>Diana regains her breath long enough to gaze up at him, warm brown eyes tinged in remorse. "Sorry." She makes a valiant effort of getting to her feet, but Loki sees the strain it is for her, and places a hand on the crook of her neck to hold her in place.</p><p>"Stay still," he orders. He pulls her down until her head is resting against his left leg, his gentle grasp on her only dropping when he knows she won't protest. He shoots her a wry smile. "Let me guess, you tripped walking down the beach?"</p><p>Diana's smile would make her gods' heart skip a beat. Loki’s fares no better. "Lately I find myself growing clumsier and clumsier." Her tone is playful, though there is an edge that warns him not to press.</p><p>Loki sighs. "Diana."</p><p>"Loki."</p><p>"We are friends, aren't we?" He asks. As the question leaves his lips, he realizes he feels very small. Unimportant next to her.</p><p>Diana frowns. "Of course we are," she assures. Her hand reaches for empty air until his hand comes to meet hers, fingers intertwining as if sculpted just for him to hold. "You are my greatest friend."</p><p>"Very well." Loki sits up straighter, confidence restored with one sentence. Does that make him pathetic? With Diana, sometimes he wonders. "As my greatest friend, I beg you….. please learn how to lie."</p><p>The Amazon scoffs, offended. She pushes his hand away, though they linger in the same space. "I'm not lying, Loki."</p><p>"Antiope isn't training you, then?" His words come out accusatory, though that was not his intention. He sighs, forcing his tone to soften. "You hardly fooled me, and I don't think Hippolyta fares any better with your excuses."</p><p>Diana opens her mouth to speak, and Loki can feel the next lie forming on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes search his — wide brown hues speaking of a fierce determination that Loki knows has always lived inside of her spirit.</p><p>Loki doesn’t know what she must see in his gaze, but he can imagine. He does not want this to break their friendship, but he knows lies too well to ever let one stand between him and Diana.</p><p>She shuts her mouth again, eyes pulling themselves away from his, and her throat shifts as she swallows roughly. “Just because we are still young doesn’t mean we will remain so.” Were they still young? Sometimes, it did not feel so. Centuries had passed since they’d first met. “Ares will come for my people some day, seeking revenge against my mother and the Amazons. If no one else is worthy of wielding the God Killer, I will be. I have to be.”</p><p>“This is about Ares?” Loki wonders, bewilderment leaking into his tone.</p><p>He too has heard the stories of a god so easily willing to kill his own kind for the destruction of mankind, the reason why Odin was persuaded by Zeus to ally himself with the Amazons. A force like that could destroy any of them, if given the chance, and only one thing that the Amazons possessed would be able to stop him.</p><p>The God Killer, Diana called it. But Loki had heard of it by another name, not so easily explained. The Weapon, the Allfather had called it not so long ago, and in return Frigga had shot at her husband the most scathing of looks. Loki feared then it would become an argument, but nothing more had come to pass of the conversation.</p><p>He’d wondered if there was something they had not wanted to mention in his presence.</p><p>“It is about Ares and about me.” Diana does not return his gaze again, and so he takes her hand in his again. Her tone is soft, but worried. “The Amazons are warriors. Who would I be if I didn’t learn to fight and die beside them, if it came to it?”</p><p>The mere thought of Diana dying makes Loki blanch. He squeezes her hand, slender fingers holding on for dear life.</p><p>“You’ll never die,” he promises. “What would I do without you?”</p><p>//</p><p>A century must pass without Loki seeing her. Two, maybe, if he were counting.</p><p>He isn’t. It is agonizing enough to think of the moments spent apart without boiling it down to seconds.</p><p>When the Amazons visit again, he is there to greet them.</p><p>Hippolyta comes through the Bifrost first, Philippus only a few steps behind. Behind them trails Antiope, looking as pleased to be there as she always does, and a handful of other Amazons materialize in the light of the bridge as Loki squints to get a better view.</p><p>For a moment, he fears that she has not come. Then, he fears that she would not be able to come, for a million dark and painful possibilities cross his mind.</p><p>It is not obvious to him that she is among them until the Amazons themselves begin to drift away, each giving their greetings to Asgardians they have come to know well. Until the only one standing there is she who is not as old as they, yet also not the adolescent Loki remembers her being.</p><p>The clothes she wears are not what she’s worn before.</p><p>No longer does she possess the pretty but simple tunics of their culture. In their place, Loki recognizes the armor of a warrior that has not yet completed her training, the bronze breastplate seeming to be molded to her exact shape. Her hair, once messily pulled back, rests in a perfect braid falling down her back.</p><p>The confusion he feels is not returned. The moment Diana spots him, her lips spread into the widest of grins, her legs carrying her effortlessly towards him. “Loki!”</p><p>Her arms swallow him in an embrace, her armor clinking against the golden accents of his outfit. “Diana,” he breathes into her neck, winded by the surprising strength with which she greets him. “You’re… taller.”</p><p>Her laughter rings in his ear, vibrant and warm. "I don't remember you being this charming.”</p><p>"Forgive me, my lady." He pulls away from her, save for a hand wrapped around her own. With the grace of a prince, he offers her an elegant bow. "It is a pleasure to see you, as always."</p><p>Diana rolls her eyes, but her joy is infectious. They grin together as she reaches out, punching his shoulder playfully. "I thought I'd have to go another century without visiting." She sighs longingly. "I was tempted to make a run for it, but Antiope would have had my head."</p><p>"I don't doubt it." An invol shudder runs through him as he thinks of ever incurring the Amazon's wrath, even by accident. "I am glad you came, though. Thor hasn't shut up about you since you last came. I think he missed you a little too much."</p><p>"Oh, Thor is the one who missed me?" Diana's question is not without mirth. "Then I guess I should go find him, shouldn't I? Someone here must be willing to show a little appreciation, if not you."</p><p>He waves away her threat, already beckoning her towards Asgard with him. "He can miss you for a few hours longer. I've learned more tricks since you left."</p><p>//</p><p>Some things are simple.</p><p>A few moments every few decades is all they're afforded. They must say goodbye. When they are not together, they think fondly of the moment they can be so again.</p><p>And some things are not.</p><p>She is a warrior, with hands made to mold anything in their grasp into a weapon.</p><p>He could be everything, but he is not enough for a father who only cherishes his older son.</p><p>//</p><p>Ares will come someday.</p><p>Diana knows this as she knows her mother's love.</p><p>He will bring the wrath of a god upon mankind and the Amazons. One for being less than him, the other for wronging him.</p><p>He will come because he knows his death is hidden in their hands.</p><p>She pretends she doesn't see her mother's uncertainty when their eyes meet over the walls of the training grounds, the fear that all of this practice will be for nothing.</p><p>Antiope's blows come harder and faster in those moments, the rage of an army held in the heart of the fiercest of the Amazons. She too fears for what will one day come.</p><p>"Will we be enough?" She wonders only when there are no Amazons to listen.</p><p>Loki's comfort is dark and conspiratory, but it is all that she has. "Ares will be nothing under the heel of your shoe." He smiles like he knows a joke Diana has not yet learned the punchline of. "You're everything and more, Diana."</p><p>Diana does not know the taste of magic, but Loki's lips against hers are closest to such a thing.</p><p>Her fingers curl around the leather of his collar, pulling him down with her, arms locking over his shoulders. In her chest, her heart flutters uncontrollably as she breathes him in.</p><p>A desperation grows inside of her; to keep him close, to never let him go.</p><p>His arms wrap around her, palm resting against the small of her back. He says nothing, but it is his choice to pull Diana in again when her own resolve wavers — her movements a question, his an answer.</p><p>"Stay with me," he pleads into the hollow of her neck, when the breath has run out of their lungs. A selfish wish.</p><p>Diana knows to say yes would be to abandon her family, to give up what she has trained her whole life to achieve. It is not an option and yet she so desperately wants it to be one. "I can't."</p><p>"You would be safe here." The desperation in his tone is devastating. He knows as she does what an outcome with Ares returning could do. "Odin has already sworn to fight beside the Amazons, should Ares come. You don't need to be a part of it."</p><p>Diana shakes her head. Her hands ache to keep him, but her soul knows it is not the time to abandon her training. "When Ares comes," she promises. "When he comes, I will stand with my sisters. The fiercest of the Amazons will wield the God Killer, and we will destroy him. Only then can I stay, Loki."</p><p>"You are foolish to hope of a brighter outcome," Loki says, but his words are those of anger.</p><p>Diana understands his sorrows. "Then, I suppose I am a fool."</p><p>//</p><p>The man who is Steve Trevor is not Loki, but Diana gets lost in his sea colored eyes nonetheless.</p><p>For a brief, hopeful moment after he crashes onto the shore of Themyscira, she fantasizes about being able to go to Asgard for help. She considers calling Heimdall for the Bifrost, seeking Loki out and explaining that Ares has returned though the Amazons do not believe.</p><p>In her wildest dream, she imagines him coming with her to Man's World, of them stopping Ares together.</p><p>But Diana knows Loki best. She knows he will not come, just as she didn't stay.</p><p>She leaves no goodbye to him, no letter to pass on after she runs off. He's resourceful. If he wishes to find her, he will.</p><p>The waters that surround Themyscira are calm, and Steve Trevor sleeps soundly next to her, but all she can do is think of the life she has left behind.</p><p>Diana finds herself drifting away from Steve, her legs carrying her to the other side of the boat so she may look back to her home one last time. It is already gone from view, disappearing with it's enchantment, but if she imagines it, she can see where the cliffs would stand in the horizon.</p><p>"You'll regret it," Loki says. His voice is soft, as if he cares whether or not he awakens Steve with it.</p><p>His presence washes over her, grounding her on a piece of wood that bobs every which way with the current. He won't agree with her, but having him here to speak is enough of a comfort.</p><p>Instinctively, she shuts her eyes, allowing a shuddering breath to rip through her lungs. "I could never look at myself in the mirror again if I didn't come."</p><p>The laughter that rings between them is mocking and harsh. "He could be lying to you."</p><p>"Would it matter if he was, if he could?" Diana forces herself to turn to him, overcome with the bitter irony of the statement. The God of Lies telling her of the lies of another. "I saw with my own eyes the war that they waged. They came for him, to kill him. They murdered Antiope. Who would be responsible for that if not Ares?"</p><p>"You don't know men," Loki argues. He flickers as the boat rocks again, the shimmering gold of the illusion that places him before her failing for a moment. "It's not just Ares that makes them mad enough to incite violence. They're all vicious, faulty things."</p><p>She shakes her head. "I don't believe that."</p><p>Loki laughs again. His movement brings him towards her, barely an inch between them. "That's because you are better than them, Diana. Your heart holds a kindness they could never even begin to comprehend. You are…" He trails off, frustrated. "They will disappoint you. It is only a matter of time."</p><p>"I cannot stand by." Her voice is hard, but her gaze asks for something Loki cannot give. "I understand if you can't accept it, but this is a path I've already started down."</p><p>“Diana...” Loki’s gaze is eyes cold, but she knows hers must burn like a raging fire. He reaches his hand towards her shoulder, forgetting in that moment that he is not truly there. His fingers pass straight through her, and he sighs as he finally caves. “You stay alive. You return to me when you finish your mission.”</p><p>“I’m not saying goodbye yet,” Diana agrees. Her voice is blissfully even as she flashes a smile meant only for him. “You can’t get rid of me so easily.”</p><p>//</p><p>She dances in the rubble of a town imprisoned by the enemy, freed by her own hand, with a man who is not the boy her heart has belonged to since youth. She feels the snow brushing against her skin for the first time in her life.</p><p>She imagines a life of tranquility, in a world without wars. Coming home every day to Steve Trevor, waking up beside him every morning and kissing him as the sun rises on their skin. Growing old with him is a fantasy that Diana will never know, but she imagines she’d like it, if she had the option.</p><p>Steve tastes like the first rays of hope in an otherwise bleak world. Diana has only ever known one type of love before but his could drown her like an ocean and she would fall to the waves with outstretched arms.</p><p>When Steve dies, he takes all of his humanity.</p><p>His flaws, his imperfections, the quirks that make him human and the way that he would smile at Diana as if she were the only thing that mattered in his very large universe. He does not leave a single piece of him for Diana to remember save for the trinket carefully placed upon her palm, leather and metal her only lifeline as she rages against her shattering heart.</p><p>Ares crumbles like ash against her strength but when the war is done, there is no room in Diana’s heart for dreams of a home to return to.</p><p>//</p><p>Mischief finds her outside a pub in London, after her friends have drunk themselves to their heart’s content and they all vanish into the night, ready to make their own life now that they no longer have a stake in a war that is won.</p><p>He stands at the door with his hair slicked back, holding a cane that he twirls aimlessly, looking ever the gentlemen of their times. As he sees Diana stroll out of the rowdy building, a smile overtakes his face, and his breath comes out a puff of frost between chilled lips.</p><p>“I thought you might need a ride,” Loki says, and he holds out his hand for her.</p><p>Diana does not take it. She has spent days trying to find the words to string together to tell Loki that she is not going with him to Asgard as she had once promised. She doesn't know how to say that, for better or worse, she has found a reason to stay in Man’s World just a little longer.</p><p>In the end, she does not have to say anything. Loki sees the hesitance in her gaze, watches her sway in the wind but not come any closer, and he drops his hand and his smile all the same. “Ah.”</p><p>“We won the war.” Diana does not know why those are the words that come, but they do. Her hands fall into the pockets of her coat, searching for warmth. “Ares is dead.”</p><p>Loki’s chin tilts, eyes inspecting the way she has come to easily wear their clothes and move as they move. “But you’re staying.”</p><p>“Steve thought humanity was worth protecting.” Her voice wavers at the mention of her dead love’s name. “I can’t do that locked away in a palace on Asgard.”</p><p>Loki huffs. He turns away from her, to glance at the cars that pass by them on the street. “So Asgard is a prison now. I’m sure Father will love to hear that.”</p><p>“You know that’s not what I mean.” But Diana knows it is not completely the truth. She has no place in Themyscira and Asgard alike, not when there is a world beyond them. “And even if it is, that doesn’t mean we have to say goodbye, Loki. You could… I don’t know. Stay with me.”</p><p>“Stay? Here?” His voice raises, incredulous. “To live among the common folk of Earth, to live and to breathe as they do? The life of an ordinary man in an ordinary world with ordinary people? Even your Gods preferred to live on a mountain rather than mingle with the creatures beneath them.”</p><p>“We could be happy here,” Diana argues, her hand raising to gesture at the air around them. “You haven’t seen the beauty that this world can hold, the wonder. We could offer them protection, and we could be free. You wouldn’t have to live in Thor’s shadow anymore, you could be yourself here.”</p><p>“You expect me to exchange a lifetime of servitude as humanity’s guardian in exchange for my freedom?” Loki’s disgust is evident in his tone, his posture, the way he takes a step towards Diana, quick and fluid. “I think I’d much rather prefer my life of imprisonment on Asgard. At least there my cell is comfortable.”</p><p>Diana steps forward as well, simmering rage coiled in her gut as she sees Loki refuse her invitation. She had suspected he would say no, but the rejection stings. “Then go home, Loki. You can be content to be the second prince of Asgard and I can do as I wish. Make it easy for yourself.”</p><p>“Diana, please.” Loki’s anger wanes. His next step towards her is measured, leaving him close enough to drag a gentle hand over her cheek. “We can speak to Hippolyta, return you to the Amazons. Things can be normal again, as they have always been. Your pilot blinded you with his promise of adventure, but there is nothing for you here now that he’s gone.”</p><p>Her head shakes, once. The icy touch of his hand against her skin brings a shiver through her, but she is resolute. “I’m staying. This is where I belong.”</p><p>“Ares said they were undeserving of you,” Loki says, his voice a gentle sigh. He pulls away from her. “Why must you be so stubborn?”</p><p>She had wondered just how much Loki had known, how much he’d allowed himself to become involved in a war that was not his own. Before, he’d spoken too casually of the events that he had no presence in. As if his own eyes had watched it all unfold, ready to witness the tragedy that was losing Steve, almost losing herself in the process.</p><p>At the admission of knowing what Ares had told her, Diana’s body turns rigid.</p><p>“How long were you watching?” She forces herself to ask, the words taste like lead. “How much did you see?”</p><p>The shift in the air between them is almost tangible. He swallows as if knives were pressed to his tongue, gives a soft shake of his head, and for one bitter moment Diana thinks he will leave without answering her.</p><p>Her hand wraps around his arm, fingers ironclad, and she cannot keep herself from asking. “The town and all of its people… Ares... Steve. How much of that did you see?”</p><p>“Everything.” Loki’s gaze never once wavers, never tries to pry away from her own. “I saw all of it.”</p><p>“Then you could have done something.”</p><p>The image of so many lost to a red haze is one Diana will never forget. She thinks they are burned into her mind now, never absent from thought. The horrors of man are great, but the absence of action is a special sort of hell in the eyes of someone who is encompassed by compassion.</p><p>Loki nods.</p><p>He does not tell her lies of being wrapped up in Asgardian politics, of having to get Thor out of trouble or of being indisposed for any other reason.</p><p>He. Nods.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>For all that he has known her so well their entire lives, Loki does not remember not to touch her when she’s upset.</p><p>His hand wraps around hers, the one that is not kept still securely around his arm, but the blood pounds in her heart and her fingers tighten around his until she thinks they might snap if she holds any harder.</p><p>“Because I didn’t care about them,” Loki answers, finally. “I knew you would be safe— Ares had no desire to hurt you, not truly. You were always going to win, Diana, and Steve Trevor was a human man you had no chance of saving. If he didn’t die in this war, he’d have died in the next. It’s what they do. Why not let him die a hero’s death?”</p><p>With Ares, it had been too easy to let the anger flow through her naturally. He called for it, the rage that seemed to sing so naturally in her veins, and it had risen eagerly.</p><p>But Loki is not Ares. She did not feel so loved in the presence of Ares as she did Loki; the hope of a future they could share together, side by side.</p><p>Her grief and love for Loki mix in a catastrophe of emotions. She wonders when the boy who she had called her best friend in youth had become such a mangled thing with the morals of a monster. She questions what it makes of her, that she only noticed when it was her own dreams crumbling before her eyes.</p><p>Diana feels in her chest a loss no less severe than that of losing Steve, and the agonizing emptiness that came after.</p><p>“If that is truly what you think, after all of this, then I can’t help you.” She wishes the disgust were not so evident on her face but Diana knows she is an open book, she knows there is no hiding what she feels. “Perhaps someday, a thousand years from now, you will have learned how to be a kinder person.”</p><p>“Diana.” Her name on his lips is a prayer, but she is not his god and she won’t listen.</p><p>“We’ve reached our goodbye, Loki.” Her hands fall away from him. She finds the strength in herself to walk away.</p><p>“Diana, please.”</p><p>She doesn’t let herself look back.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>